Prof. Stephen Hawking, who improbably turned 71 today, has joined the Cambridge Project for Existential Risk, a think tank devoted to understanding and preventing the many calamities that could wipe out the human race.

Talk about the right guy for the job. If anyone knows how to survive, it’s Hawking. It has now been 50 years since he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and he has defied every grim prognosis ever since.

He has also arguably done more than any living scientist to figure out how the universe works. Hint: it’s complicated.

In the fight for our human survival — whether the threat comes from sentient nano-robots or fume-spewing SUVs — it only makes sense that we look to Hawking for pointers.

Let’s just hope he stays on our side. If he turns his back on humanity, we’re surely all doomed.